Caught in the Crossfire: What Future for Women and Children in Nigeria’s Forgotten Crisis

This is a guest post by Sherrie Russell-Brown. Sherrie is an international lawyer, who writes about issues of gender, security, international justice and humanitarian law, with a regional focus on sub-Saharan Africa. She also coordinates a collaborative group of experts dedicated to promoting research and analysis on the Sahel, and, in particular, the Boko Haram insurgency.

Ahead of an all-important international donor conference, on February 24, in Oslo, Norway to mobilize greater international involvement and increased funding for the humanitarian crisis in Nigeria and the Lake Chad region, Nigeria’s Defense Headquarters (DHQ) has warned the public of an alleged “new tactic” by Boko Haram. The movement is already known for using more women and girls to carry out suicide operations than any other terrorist group. However, in a statement on Friday, January 27, Director of Defense Information Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar said that “female suicide bombers are now evading detection from security operatives by carrying babies on their back.” In earlier reports, he had speculated that the bombers may have only disguised their IEDs as infants. The intention in either case is the same: to enable them to pass as nursing mothers and cross a security checkpoint. Nigerian authorities who confirmed the January 13 attacks in Madagali “saw two women detonate their devices, killing themselves, two babies and four others.”

If this disturbing news of Boko Haram using babies in female suicide attacks were not enough of a wakeup call about the deepening crisis in Nigeria, Toby Lanzer, outgoing United Nations (UN) assistant secretary-general and regional humanitarian coordinator for the Sahel, has been tirelessly raising the alarm about the grave humanitarian situation, faced, in particular, by children, in Nigeria and the Lake Chad region.

It remains to be seen whether the use of babies by Boko Haram in female suicide attacks marks a “trend.” What is clear is that hundreds of thousands of children are suffering as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency, in many other ways. Both the Oslo pledging conference in February and the UN Security Council mission to the Lake Chad region in March, should seek to ensure the role of women in building sustainable peace. As concluded by The Fund for Peace report Confronting the Unthinkable: Suicide Bombers in Northern Nigeria which used data generated by the Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Program , the Violence Against Women and Girls Observatory Platform, and The Council on Foreign Relations’ Nigeria Security Tracker. More dedicated research, funding, and support is needed to address the complexity of the issue of female and child suicide bombers. It must also be used to tackle those urgent issues less likely to make global headlines, such as the starvation of children in northeastern Nigeria, and the towns like Bama, where their faces are no longer seen.